The Pains of Childbirth
by Phaerie
Summary: OMGFLUFF. Meliara's giving birth and getting Danric back for getting her pregnant all at once! Short little one-shot with fluff abounding.


A/N: It has been brought to my attention by one Black Rose25 that I disappeared from the Sherwood Smith Boards for a time and a comeback is in order. So here I am, sitting at my computer, Crown Duel in hand to refresh my wishy-washy memory, typing another one-shot. If it seems a bit off and the characters OOC..just blame it on sleep deprivation..or Crown Duel deprivation. Either will work.  
  
Disclaimer: Phaerie only owns the newly bought socks she's wearing. She is very proud to say that she bought them with her own money. Sherwood Smith owns most everything else. The unrecognizable stuff belongs to Phaerie's muses, Paebeth and Fyrith who wish to say: Support the cause; donate a cookie.  
  
FLUFF ALERT: The sheer fluff-going-on-sap that will ooze from your computer screen as you read this fic will have you craving a 3 Musketeers bar by the end.  
  
+x|x+The Pains of Childbirth+x|x+  
  
"Life! Get this baby out of my now, Vidanric!" Meliara's demands could be heard throughout all of Athanarel, leaving those actually in the room with her – the two healers and her husband – wishing deafness upon themselves.  
  
"Mel, screaming yourself hoarse isn't going to make the delivery any faster," Danric whispered soothingly as he placed a fresh wet cloth on her brow, "Listen to what the H\healers are asking you to do – deep, cleansing breaths."  
  
Meliara turned her head to better glare at her clueless husband, knocking the cloth off in the process, "Deep cleansing breaths!? How about next time you be the one to get pregnant and we'll see how you handle it when you've been in labor for 3 time changes, you – oh curse it!" Meliara's tirade was cut short as another contraction plagued her. Eyes shut tight and face contorted in immense pain, she blindly reached for Vidanric's hand. Unfortunately, she grabbed the main healer's hand instead, and as she let loose a strangled cry, it was intermixed with that of the healer's, poor man, as she crushed his fingers in her hormonal grasp.  
  
Vidanric visibly winced as Meliara released the healer's hand and he cradled it delicately against his chest, rasping out orders for his apprentice to bring him some pain relieving herbs, quickly. Mel didn't even bother to apologize, she was too preoccupied with trying to control her breathing before the next contraction hit.  
  
The only warning our dear Danric received before his wife oh-so- lovingly captured his hand in her death-grip, was the long string of curses she let loose as yet another contraction set in. The only thing that saved him from letting out a shrill scream of his own was the instinct his courtly-driven mind put into action – literally biting his tongue. He hadn't bitten down hard enough so as to draw blood, but it was painful nonetheless. Of course, it wasn't nearly as painful as the agony being inflicted upon his hand.  
  
Amidst the searing pain, Vidanric could just barely make out the healer's scathing response to his apprentice's frantic mutterings that the baby was ready to come out, "It's about time." He grudgingly came back over to the bed, pushing the long sleeves of his robe up past his elbows. "When the next contraction comes, I want you to push," he said with a pointed stare that would've been a glare had she not been the Queen of Remalna. The healer then lifted the end of the blanket at the foot of the bed, moving into position, and promptly fainted, eyes rolling back in his head and nose spurting out a steady flow of blood. It would seem that he wasn't quite the healer he boasted about being. Ahem.  
  
His apprentice gave a yelp before she moved forward to take over as Mel started shouting, "This is all your fault, Vidanric!" along with some colorful additions thrown in between the lines.  
  
"Your Majesty, if you would, grab the towels and hot water on that table there?" the young healer-in-training asked frantically, turning back to Meliara without waiting for an answer to bark orders for Mel to push on the count of three and keep breathing.  
  
With a skeptical glance at the fallen healer, Danric peeled away his wife's fingers and hurriedly brought over the water and towels, setting them at the edge of the bed and moving back to Meliara's side.  
  
"Danric," Mel whimpered, her hand searching his out again. Biting the inside of his cheek to suppress any and all outcries before they could manifest, he laced his fingers with hers. Shutting his eyes against the pain and cacophony of screams, he was only brought back to the present by the mingling of a baby's cries and a mother's hearty laugh.  
  
He opened his eyes to see the young healer wrapping the towels around a blood-covered mound of wriggling flesh – his daughter. She took the baby over to a water basin by the window, sponging the pink skin clean. Meliara had lain back against the pillows and was panting heavily. Grabbing a clean cloth, he dabbed her brow dry and kissed it lightly, squeezing Mel's hand reassuringly.  
  
"Congratulations, Your Majesties, she's as healthy as a new spring!" the healer-in-training-who'd-just-graduated said happily as she placed the small bundle in Vidanric arms then departing to move her superior-that- wasn't to another room.  
  
"Do you want to hold her?" Danric asked Mel gingerly, eyes intent on her now-pale face.  
  
"You hold her for now, if you don't mind. I could use a nap.." and with a wide yawn, her eyes misted over and her lids closed groggily over them. Vidanric sat in a chair next to the bed watching the sleeping babe in his arms and the exhausted woman on the bed sleep alternately. Mel's bangs were damp with sweat and stuck in thin strings to her face and neck. Her cheeks were slowly regaining their rosy color as she snoozed peacefully.  
  
A small, balled fist hitting his chest lightly brought Danric's attention back to his daughter. She had a few short wisps of dark auburn hair donning the top of her head, and as she blearily opened her eyes, squinting against the brightness surrounding her, he caught a glimpse of gray-blue irises before her eyes shut tightly again. One of her tiny hands reached out and fisted around the silk fabric of his tunic, leaving a small pool of drool in her wake as she rolled over to bury her face in his chest. He laughed at her antics, a bit louder than he'd first intended, waking Meliara.  
  
She blinked her eyes drowsily, lifting an arm to block out the sun streaming in from the window. Becoming aware of Vidanric in the chair beside her she perked up and rolled over to face him and the quiet baby in his arms. "Oh, let me hold her!" Mel sang cheerfully, scooping up her daughter and tapping her little nose playfully. "What should we name her, do you think?"  
  
Vidanric lapsed into a minute of silent thought before answering with a smile, "Meriryan." Mel's eyes lit up, she smiled broadly, and Danric was given the impression that she would have clapped excitedly and jumped on the bed had she not been holding their daughter so tenderly.  
  
"Was it worth it?" he inquired, truly curious. Meliara nodded enthusiastically with another big grin, looking back down lovingly at the bundle of cloth and flesh in her arms. The pure joy that lit within her eyes was so captivating that Vidanric would have been a fool not to have kissed her then.  
  
Mel pulled back to catch her breath and told him sternly, yet with a teasing lilt to her tone, "However, if you wish to have anymore children, you're either going to be the one giving birth, or you'll surrender both of your hands for my much-needed solace without protest."  
  
Vidanric looked at her fearfully, weighing his options on a precise golden balance. Then, with a smirk, he announced, "I'll be sure to have a pair of metal gloves made especially for the occasion," sealing it with a kiss. Careful not to squish Meriryan in the middle, he moved onto the bed with the two of them, arms protectively encircling Meliara's waist and drawing her closer as her eyes drooped and her head fell softly on his shoulder. Glancing down, he watched amusedly as the newly stirred Meriryan's miniature hands played with the loose strands of Mel's hair that had fallen from her standard braid and were tickling his daughter's nose. His daughter. Meliara and his daughter. Their daughter.  
  
A/N: That last line would be so much stronger if the italics would work. -_____- Just imagine that it's all slanty-ful. ^_________________^ Voila! It's done! Now review! Please? If you review, I may consider writing a chronicle about the trials and tribulations Mel and Danric are faced with when they enter parenthood. OMG. Review. Reviewreviewreviewreviewreview. Remember, everybody loves reviews, especially those that beg for them. Like me. So review and make me feel warm and fuzzy inside! ^_____________________^  
  
~Phaerie (Who is hungry. And wants a muffin and a 3 Musketeers bar. But there are no muffins and/or 3 Musketeers bars to be found in the cabinets. So sad. ;.;) 


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